The Deep Blue Sea On The Silver Screen February 25, 2014 by lukesheppard

It’s awards season in the film industry so what better time to look at how scuba diving is represented in the glitz and glamour of the movies. The film industry has not exactly made the deep blue sea look welcoming over the years.  You’d be nervous just getting in the boat after watching Oscar and Bafta nominated Captain Phillips (2013), a film about a ship being hijacked by Somalian Pirates.  Then when you get into the ocean you could get more than you bargained for, as in 1977’s The Deep, which sees scuba divers in a war with treasure hunters after finding a goldmine in a shipwreck.

Captain Phillips Trailer You cannot talk about film and the sea without mentioning the blockbuster that made us never go in the water again, Jaws (1975).  Even to this day you can usually hear some Speedo donned, ice cream licking dad singing THAT tune to scare his kids while relaxing on the beach next to a colourful windbreaker.  The mass shark phobia (or selachophobia as it is officially known) caused by Jaws was so great and so terrifying to moviegoers that it spawned a long line of shark related horror films that continue to this day, including three Jaws sequels, Deep Blue Sea (1999) and most recently, the outrageous Sharktopus (2010), Two Headed Shark (2012) and Sharknado (2013).

Jaws Trailer Ok, so there have been some ridiculous films that perhaps won’t stop the avid diver, but how about Open Water (2003), a tense thriller about two divers left behind, forgotten about and lost in the deep, deep shark infested waters.  What makes this film even more chilling is the fact that it is based on a true story SHUDDER.  The old “based on real events” tagline, yes, these films’ drama have been amped up to keep you on the edge of your seat but you cannot help but feel a little uncomfortable in the knowledge that something like this really happened. If that does not scare you how about the action packed dive scenes in James Bond movie #4 Thunderball (1965)?  When I go diving I know I wouldn’t want to have to deal with a gang of henchmen sent by a criminal master mind with an eye patch.  A criminal master mind who by the way has a pool filled with KILLER SHARKS in his back garden! But, wait, before you throw away your regulator and fins, consider these movies.  James Cameron has made a lot of money directing sea based films (let’s just ignore Titanic (1997) for the sake of the argument). 

His 1989 deep sea adventure The Abyss suggests that the wrong doings of mankind could be realised by an alien species below water.  Or how about the documentary he directed, Ghosts Of The Abyss (2003), where the Titanic wreckage is explored, a reminder of the true wonders that can be found in the waters. Jaws writer, Peter Benchley, publicly admitted he was wrong about his depiction of sharks and their attacks on humans.  He claimed that shark attacks were simply misunderstandings by the creatures, confusing humans with their natural prey, NOT calculated killings committed in a horror like fashion.  After causing wide spread panic across the land he devoted much of his time looking after the sea, working as an ardent conservationist until his death in 2006. Finally, if you are not yet persuaded to make the plunge back into the water, perhaps we delve into the world of Disney.  The Little Mermaid (1989), for example.  Who wouldn’t want to spend time with an all singing, all dancing Jamaican crab under da sea?  Then there is the film that captured everyone’s hearts, Finding Nemo (2003). So there, yes, films have shown us the negative side of scuba diving, with shark attacks and dramas “inspired by real events”, but before you start googling two headed shark attacks, just remember what limitless possibilities lie ahead in the water.  You may, for instance, encounter a lost little fish, just waiting to be found. How many of these movies have you seen? What did you think? Are there any films that have made you think twice about getting in to the water?